How does decompression affect the number of particles in a confined gas?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the mathematical modeling of decompression in an ideal gas confined within an infinitely long box of side L. The participant has derived a formula for the time it takes for individual gas particles to reach the barrier at x=L, expressed as t_i = (2L - x_i) / (v̄ cos(a_i)). The goal is to establish a function n(t) that represents the number of particles remaining in the original volume L^3 after a time t, dependent on the total number of particles N, the average speed v̄, and time t. The conversation highlights the need for clarity in the problem's parameters and suggests considering alternative geometries for modeling.

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intervoxel
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Hi,
I'm trying to assemble a function describing the decompression of an ideal gas in a infinitely long box of side L. The gas is initially confined in a volume [tex]L^3[/tex] at one end.

So far I got the following formula which gives the time the i-th particle takes to reach the barrier at x=L:

[tex] t_i = \frac{2 L - x_i}{\overline{v} \cos(a_i)}[/tex]

where

[tex]x_i[/tex] is a random variable between 0 and L
[tex]a_i[/tex] is a random variable between 0 and [tex]\pi /2[/tex]
[tex]\overline{v}[/tex] is the average speed of a gas particle

What I need is [tex]n(t) = f(N, L, \overline{v},t)[/tex]

where

N is the total number of particles
n(t) is the the number of particles in the original volume [tex]L^3[/tex] after time t

Please, help. I'm stuck a long time in this.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
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I do not see a mechanism which could change ##n(t)##. Also it might be reasonable to work with a ball instead of a cube. As given, the problem is insufficiently explained.
 

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